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  “But now, after what happened tonight, I can tell you that even if one of you had never called forth a sprite and made a request—”

  “That would be me,” Stark said, and then quickly added, “Your Majesty.”

  “Yes, not even you, Stark, could use Old Magick safely. Not for a request as big as being shuttled between worlds.”

  “But we have to!” Kevin said. “And not just for Zoey’s world—for ours. Our Neferet will break that other Neferet out. She doesn’t care if Old Magick is dangerous. She’ll keep using it and upping the payment over and over without giving a shit. And when that Neferet is free she’ll teach our Neferet how she became immortal, and then we’ll pay—all of us. In both worlds.”

  “I understand that,” said the queen. “Tell me, Kevin Redbird, which of the five elements are you most closely allied with?”

  Kevin wanted to shout at her, Why is that important right now!? But one does not shout at a queen—especially not a queen who controls the entire island on which they stood. Instead, he answered quickly, hoping she would get to the point.

  “All five, but especially spirit. Just like my sister.”

  “And you recently lost the love of your life.”

  It didn’t sound like a question, but Kevin answered it anyway. “Yes. Aphrodite—Nyx’s Prophetess.”

  “This question will seem too personal, rude even, but you must answer me honestly,” said the queen.

  Kevin glanced at Stark, who shrugged and looked just as confused as he felt. “Okay. I will. Promise,” he said.

  “You said Aphrodite was the love of your life. Did she love you equally in return or was it—and forgive me for being crass—more of a one-sided schoolboy crush.”

  Kevin’s cheeks again flushed with heat. “She loved me! We Imprinted. I would’ve been her Oathbound Warrior.”

  Sgiach turned to Seoras. “It could work.”

  “Aye, it could.”

  Kevin and Stark spoke together. “What could work?”

  “There is another way to move between worlds. It doesn’t involve a door or the use of Old Magick. It involves the Land of the Dead—Nyx’s Realm, which spans all worlds and all realms. If your connection to spirit and your dead love is strong enough, she could guide you there and back, though it will not be without a cost—and the cost is not cheap.”

  Excitement mixed with a healthy dose of nerves flooded Kevin, so much so that it took him a moment to gather the words to speak. When he did his voice was as raw as his heart.

  “I don’t know how strong my connection to spirit is, but I know one thing for sure. The love I have for Aphrodite is unbreakable, and I will pay any price to see her again.”

  5

  Zoey

  “I don’t like it. There was something wrong about that fog.” I shook my head and studied the screen that showed six different views of Neferet’s grotto. None of them were clear. It was like looking into muddy water.

  “Yeah, I don’t like it either.” Beside me, Stark leaned closer to the TV screen that displayed the camera feed at Woodward Park. It was the middle of the night, but we’d clicked from the live feed to the recording of earlier that day and were staring at nothing but fog. “That’s why I called you guys here to review this with me. As soon as I saw all this fog, I realized it hadn’t just been confined to the House of Night. I checked the weather, and when Travis Meyer did a whole segment on what he called ‘the unusual fog phenomenon,’ I knew something must be up. Something not good.”

  I sighed. Damien, Stevie Rae, and Aphrodite had joined me in the conference room, which we’d partially turned into a control center for the Woodward Park camera setup.

  “Damien, can air tell you anything about the weird morning fog?” I asked.

  Damien closed his eyes and whispered something to his element. His sandy brown hair lifted as air swirled around him. It didn’t take long. He opened his eyes and shook his head. “No. Everything is normal with air. But that’s not surprising. Fog is really a water thing. When did you say Shaylin is going to arrive?”

  I sighed. “Not sure. There’s tension between humans and vamps in San Francisco right now, and I agreed that she needs to stay at her House of Night until that’s handled.”

  “Wait, what?” Aphrodite, who’d been lounging in a leather chair checking her Insta, looked up over the screen of her phone. “I thought the humans in San Francisco were cool.”

  “For the most part, they are,” I said. “The problem is coming from a group of incels. They hate all vampyres.”

  “’Course they do. Incels hate all women, especially vamps because we’re matriarchal,” said Stevie Rae.

  “Not to mention super attractive and so not interested in their pathetic asses.” Aphrodite looked like she’d sucked a lemon. “Incels—ewww. Now I get it. You’re right. Shaylin needs to stay there and handle that crap. And, again, ewww.”

  “I could call Shaylin. Maybe water would be able to tell her something, even if she is all the way on the west coast,” I said.

  “Why don’t you try calling water?” Stark asked. “Maybe it will tell you something.”

  “Okay, I’ll give it a shot.” I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, in and out, in and out. My affinity is for all five elements. That means I’m connected to air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. They’ll answer my call, especially when I’m circling and doing spellwork or rituals, but I’m closest to spirit. As to the other four—I’m more attuned to them than a vamp with no affinity, but compared to, like, Damien and air, I’m definitely not as connected.

  But I oriented myself quickly and turned to face west, the direction from which water was invoked. I thought about the ocean and whispered, “Water, please come to me.” In a few breaths, I smelled the sea, which reminded me suddenly of the Isle of Skye and I made a mental note to email Sgiach, the queen of that isle and also my friend. Mentally, I shook myself, refocusing, and said, “Water, can you tell me anything about this morning’s fog, please?”

  The scent of salt and sand increased, so that when I closed my eyes I could easily imagine standing beside Sgiach on the cliff where her castle perched overlooking the ocean. I concentrated and got a vague feeling of unease, but nothing specific—no images and definitely no answers.

  I opened my eyes. “Thank you, water. You may go now.”

  “Anything?” Stark asked.

  “Nothing specific. The element felt uneasy, but that’s all I got. I have zero clue why. I’m just not connected to it strongly enough.”

  “Z, I have an idea,” said Stevie Rae. “I know she’s inexperienced and all, but Kacie does have an affinity for water.”

  “As well as fire,” added Damien.

  “Speaking of fire, isn’t Shaunee on her way here?” asked Aphrodite.

  “She will be soon,” I said. “She would’ve been here today, but she called and told me one of her fledglings just rejected the Change and she needed to be there for the rest of the students. She should get here tomorrow. I think.”

  “Back to what I was sayin’,” said Stevie Rae. “Kacie’s young and all, but her connection to water is strong. I’ll bet it would tell her if something wonky is up.”

  “I vote for Ice Cream Shoes,” said Aphrodite.

  Stark and I shared a look. He shrugged, which is pretty much how I felt about it too. Technically, I was too young to be a High Priestess in charge of an entire House of Night, as well as being head of the new North American High Council, but that hadn’t stopped me—or my friends—from standing up to Neferet’s evil and taking on leadership positions.

  “Good idea, Stevie Rae,” I said. “Go get Ice Cream Shoes.”

  As Stevie Rae hurried from the conference room, Aphrodite muttered, “I knew that nickname would catch on.”

  I rolled my eyes at Aphrodite and returned my attention to the five foggy im
ages. I pointed at one of the recordings. “Are those humans?”

  “Shit! I didn’t watch this far before I called you guys here. I can’t tell whether they’re fledglings or not.”

  “Damien,” I said. “When we’re done here, would you please pass the word to the professors to check in with their students to be sure no blue fledglings were out messing around just after dawn?”

  Aphrodite straightened in her chair and stared at the screen with me. “Those aren’t fledglings. I mean, kids can be stupid, but even teenagers know better than to hang out by Neferet’s tomb.”

  Stark’s lips curved up and his eyes glinted mischievously. “Aren’t you a teenager?”

  “Don’t be stupid, Bow Boy. I’m twenty-one. Totally adult.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “Move over. I wanta see.”

  Stark had slowed the feed so that we could study it more closely, and we watched the recording creep forward in time as five hooded figures approached the wall that surrounded the grotto. It was too foggy to see anything very well, but we could tell that they were carrying offerings.

  Aphrodite snorted with disgust. “Oh, for shit’s sake, are they actually bringing offerings to that crazy bitch’s tomb?”

  “Looks like it,” I said, squinting at the screen.

  “They’re wearing cloaks that correspond to the elements,” Damien observed.

  “Hell!” I said. “We’ll need to be sure they aren’t fledglings.”

  Aphrodite’s well-manicured finger pointed at the foggy group. “What are they looking at?”

  As a group, the five had turned to their right after placing their candles and whatever else they’d been carrying in niches in the wall. They all froze, staring into the fog, before they began walking forward. Then it was like the fog swallowed them.

  “What the hell?” Stark said.

  “Can you rewind that?” Damien asked.

  “Yeah, no problem.” Stark picked up a remote and pressed the rewind button.

  “Okay, stop there.” Damien leaned forward studying the screen. “Now let it play, but slowly, and when I tell you to stop—pause it.”

  “Will do,” said Stark.

  We all watched the hooded figures walk forward as one and place their offerings on the wall. They waited a moment, and as they turned, in obvious response to something to their right, Damien said, “Stop!”

  Stark hit pause, and I sucked in a breath. “What is that on that person’s face?”

  Aphrodite said, “Her face. They’re women. Look at how the cloaks cling to their bodies as they turn. Those are definitely boobs—five sets of them.”

  I nodded. “Good catch, Aphrodite. But what’s that on her face?”

  One of cameras, the one farthest to the right and, like the others, situated in the limbs of the oaks that stood sentinel above the tomb, had just caught the face of the woman in the purple cloak. For a second I thought she was just one of those girls who liked to put on so much mascara and eyeliner that she looked raccoonish, but as I studied the grainy, indistinct picture I realized it was much more than that.

  The tip of Damien’s finger touched the screen. “She’s painted a triple moon on her forehead. And this,” he traced the girl’s face, “is like a black mask, though I think it’s also painted on. Is there any way to magnify this?”

  Aphrodite scoffed. “Like we’re the FBI?”

  “Actually, I could get one of the computer fledglings on it,” said Stark.

  “Yeah, the new budget I approved at the end of last year had a lot of computer stuff on it.”

  “I’ll take a screenshot and get it to them,” said Stark.

  Aphrodite plopped down in a chair and shook back her long blonde hair. “It’s still hard for me to believe humans have such damn short memories. A year ago Neferet ate a couple hundred of them. What didn’t they get about that? Do they think she’s having a restful little vacay walled up in that grotto and will emerge to hold hands with them and have a fucking tea party?”

  Kacie snorted as she entered the room. “Humans are morons.”

  We turned to see that Stevie Rae had returned with Kacie. I hadn’t known the kid long—actually, I’d just been introduced to her a week before. That same day she’d rejected the Change and died in a pool full of blood, chlorine, and water during the first human-fledging swim meet in House of Night history. But she’d kinda, sorta accidentally been granted a second chance by Aphrodite and resurrected as a fully Changed red vampyre with affinities for water and fire. Now, she was standing just inside the room with her hands on her curvy waist, and I was struck again by how pretty she was—and by the unique red tattoo that framed her face with waves that morphed into flames. Today she was wearing adorable overalls over a short little pullover made of the Tulsa House of Night’s black, purple, and dark green plaid, which looked great against her brown skin.

  Kacie took her hands from her waist and shrugged. “No offense. I know some of you have human friends. But, seriously, all the humans I know are total morons.”

  “Less commentary, Ice Cream Shoes, and more information,” said Aphrodite. “Though I must say I tend to agree with you about the moronic nature of humans.” She pointed at the still-shot of the face-painted human on the screen. “Let me present exhibit one.”

  “What’s that in the fog?” Kacie asked, coming forward to stand between Aphrodite and me.

  I shifted my weight and sighed. “Well, I’m afraid it’s a moronic human. But that’s not the point. Or at least not why Stevie Rae brought you here. See all that fog?”

  “Yeah. Where is that?”

  “Woodward Park—this mornin’,” said Stevie Rae, moving up so that she stood near Kacie.

  “Here? In Tulsa?”

  “Yeah,” I said.

  “That’s weird. I didn’t think you guys got fog here like we did in Chicago. Plus, it’s really the wrong time of year for it. Most Chicago fog is in the spring or fall.”

  “We get fog, but not a lot,” Damien said as he peered over my shoulder at the screen. “Especially not in the middle of winter when the temperature has been the same for days and days.”

  “How long did it last?” Kacie kept staring at the picture. “And what’s wrong with that woman’s face?”

  “Yeah,” Stevie Rae asked. “What’s goin’ on with her makeup? She kinda looks like the Lone Ranger.”

  “The who?” Aphrodite uncrossed and crossed her legs.

  “It’s from an old TV show. He wore a mask. My mama and me used to watch reruns when I was little. I really only remember the mask and his horse.”

  “Which has nothing to do with the fog,” said Damien. “Kacie, we don’t know what’s going on with those humans, but that really isn’t important right now.”

  “Damien’s right—as always.” I grinned at him. I’ll always love how studious Damien is—how he keeps learning and growing. “What’s important is the weird fog and why it covered this city this morning. It could be a weather fluke, but we need to be sure. Could you ask water about it?”

  Kacie’s gaze went from the screen to me. Her big, dark eyes looked surprised and maybe even a little frightened.

  “Hey,” I said gently. “It’s okay if you’re not ready or if it’s too hard. We get it, and no one will be mad at you.”

  “It’s not that. I’ll definitely try, but is water gonna actually talk to me?”

  Aphrodite covered a laugh with a cough, and I talked over her, shooting her an exasperated look. “No, at least not with words.”

  Stevie Rae, whose affinity was earth, took over for me. “You’ll get a feelin’ from your element. You should be able to tell if it’s upset, and especially if it’s been messed with recently. It may even give you an image of somethin’. Like, remember when all those trees just outside the wall that surrounds the Chicago House of Night started dyin’ and we couldn’
t figure out why?”

  Kacie nodded.

  “Well, I checked in with earth and knew right away someone was poisonin’ ’em—shooting some crap into their roots that was killin’ ’em. I couldn’t see who it was, but I knew it was a human doin’ it and not a disease that was makin’ ’em die.”

  “Yeah, and then you had the Sons of Erebus keep watch and you caught that guy.”

  “Right! Earth didn’t say anything to me, but it gave me an image of roots bein’ flooded with poison and a feelin’ that it was due to human intervention.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “That’s what you need to ask water to do. Just ground yourself, call water, and then ask it if the fog this morning was natural or unnatural. Then open yourself to the answer.”

  “Okie dokie. I’ll try.”

  Before I could even point her to the west, Kacie closed her eyes tightly. Her forehead furrowed and she said, “Water, could ya please come here?”

  Instantly, the room was awash with ocean scents—not just salt and sand, but the earthy twang of sea grass and coconut-scented suntan lotion.

  Eyes still closed, Kacie said, “Cool! Grand Cayman! Okay, now, water, go back to this morning, especially around a park called Woodward—here in Tulsa, not on Cayman. There was lots of fog. What’s up with that? Weird weather, or just plain weird?”

  We all stared at Kacie as she gasped and staggered a little—and suddenly the water scents disappeared, leaving the newly Changed vampyre looking pale and sick.

  “Here, sit down.” I shooed Aphrodite out of the closest chair and guided Kacie into it.

  “I’ll get her some water,” Damien said, heading to a refreshment counter in the corner of the room.

  “Make it blood,” I said, realizing just how bad Kacie looked.

  “Got it!”

  As Damien poured blood from the pitcher kept in the fridge and popped it in the microwave to heat, Stevie Rae and I crouched down beside Kacie. She trembled as she rested her head in her hands.